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Senior Living: The Empty Room Syndrome

The kids are gone. You want to turn empty bedrooms into rooms you can actually use, but you don’t know if the time is right. How long do you have to wait before you can pack up the stuffed animals and high school trophies without feeling guilty?

Mom wants a sewing room and dad wants a quiet place to watch TV, but what if the kids come back or a parent needs a place to stay? Heaven forbid if infrequent visitors don’t have a bed to sleep in.

It is possible to have a new office or a sewing room without sacrificing sleeping space. Remember the Murphy beds?

Space-saving Murphy style beds are once more in the spotlight. You can have room for company without giving up plans for your sewing room or home office. The Murphy style bed takes up less space than a sofa sleeper or a futon, while offering the comfort of a real bed. Wall beds aren’t just for studio apartments or vacation homes. New styles of this old classic can easily be built into any room. The beds are sleek, stylish, comfortable and invisible. You won’t even know they are there unless you need to use them. You will be pleased to learn that the new models (which fit into a wall or cabinet) are easier to raise and lower that the ones you may remember.

It’s your home. Remodeling should be a guilt free process, but of course it won’t be. It’s true that you are literally pulling the safety net out from under the former occupant, but if you can provide a comfortable bed, a warm meal, and a big hug when they show up, you can pull it off in style.